Nominations are now open for KY Inno's Startups to Watch in 2022.
We are looking for early-stage companies based in Kentucky and Southern Indiana that are less than 5 years old and have raised less than $25 million in venture capital. Past honorees have closed on major venture capital fundraises, landed spots in coveted accelerator programs and scaled their companies in Kentucky and beyond.
You can find nominations by clicking here. Self-nominations by companies are welcome. Nomination deadline is 11:59 p.m., Monday, Nov. 22.
Honorees will be recognized at an awards event in late January, and will be profiled in Louisville Business First print and onliine the same week.
Louisville Business First has informally highlighted Startups to Watch in years past, but will look to expand that recognition through its new platform KY Inno.
In case you missed the news, Louisville Business First launched KY Inno in September, expanding startup, technology and innovation coverage across the commonwealth. KY Inno also has its own newsletter, The Beat, that covers the top stories happening each week. You can sign up for the free newsletter here.
And while no one has a crystal ball, we'd like to think Startups to Watch can predict the future a bit.
In January, XLerateHealth co-founder and CEO Jackie Willmot told us about eBlu Solutions, a health-tech company had been operating in "stealth mode" while steadily growing its customer base to include 275+ specialty practices across the U.S. In April, eBlu raised $11.4 million in a Series A funding round.
Greg Langdon, Louisville investor and startup adviser, shared that Aperity, a software and data analytics company, was poised for expansion into other industry sectors earlier this year. It was acquired by Financial Information Technologies LLC for an undisclosed amount later that same month.
Those are just two illustrative examples that came out of the very successful Startups to Watch in 2021 group, which also included companies such as RxLightning, Forecastr and EZ-Chow. (You can check out that full list here — 2021 isn't over just yet so keep an eye on these startups!)
Questions? Shoot me an email at hcawthon@bizjournals.com.
